AT&T to offer mobile 5G service this year

Monday

Jan 8, 2018 at 6:55 AMJan 8, 2018 at 6:55 AM

By Scott MoritzBloomberg News

AT&T aims to be the first U.S. carrier to provide fifth-generation, or 5G, mobile service to phone customers this year, pitting the wireless giant against Verizon and T-Mobile in a costly network upgrade race to spur revenue growth.

Unlike current trials using 5G technology to beam signals between stationary antennas, AT&T said in a statement it will introduce mobile services in more than a dozen U.S. cities later this year. The company didn't offer specifics.

The faster connections will help carriers sell advanced services like virtual reality and 4K video and enable self-driving cars. Verizon, T-Mobile and Sprint Corp. also intend to offer mobile 5G services but haven't elaborated on their plans, though Verizon expects to introduce fixed service this year in a bid to replace cable and phone modems.

While 5G technology offers a path for a slowing industry to revive growth, challenges abound. Mobile-phone companies, chipmakers, device manufacturers and software developers will need to spend about $200 billion a year in research and capital expenses to get there. And engineers will have to find ways to get the technology to work around interference from trees and rain and provide a strong enough signal to handle the anticipated demand.

For AT&T, the push toward 5G has been a series of small steps over the past three years. "Our strategy is to build targeted capabilities early and expand from that," said Gordon Mansfield, an AT&T vice president of network and device design.

AT&T says it has laid the groundwork for 5G through network upgrades in 23 cities and fixed wireless trials in Kalamazoo, Michigan; South Bend, Indiana; and Waco and Austin, Texas. The company hasn't disclosed where it plans to launch mobile 5G initially or what airwaves or network equipment it plans to use.

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